How Kentucky can make history with win in championship game

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kentucky coach John Calipari says his team is “just playing basketball.”

Actually, the Wildcats are playing down-to-the-wire basketball. Kentucky certainly isn’t dominating its opponents, evidenced by back-to-back game-winning three-pointers from Aaron Harrison against Michigan and Wisconsin.

Well, Kentucky could go down as the best high-wire act in the NCAA tournament since expansion to 64 teams in 1985. According to USA TODAY Sports’ research expert Craig Bennett, the only team in that span to win the title and have every game decided by single digits is Arizona in 1997. The average margin for Arizona’s six games was 5.3 points (32 points in six games, two of which went to overtime). Kentucky’s first give games in the tournament have been decided by a total of 18 points — for an average margin of 3.6. Villanova has the smallest margin ever for a champion with 5.0 in 1985.

Should it be that surprising? While Calipari’s freshmen-laden group has matured tremendously and put things together perfectly over the last month, the Wildcats had one of the toughest paths to reach the championship ever.

Kentucky trudged through a gantlet Midwest Region — beating Kansas State, Wichita State, Louisville and Michigan to reach the Final Four and then clipped Wisconsin on Saturday night to earn a spot in the championship game.

The key ingredient to escaping with narrow victories? Togetherness.

“If we are the champions tomorrow, it will be because we did it together, played hard, and trusted each other,” UK forward Julius Randle said.